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High Stakes Poker has seen some exciting hands in recent week. None more so than when Jean-Robert Bellande was dealt pocket aces twice in one session. In one hand, JRB made a costly mistake, but in the other, he played perfectly and won the biggest pot of the show.
Hand 1: JRB Overplays His Aces
In this hand, JRB was in middle position with pocket aces (AhAd) and raised to $7,000 after Daniel Negreanu opened the betting with QsTs. Jennifer Tilly, who was on the straddle, re-raised to $30,000 with AsKd. JRB then made a significant mistake by re-raising again to $85,000, which she correctly interpreted as him having pocket aces or kings.Should JRB have slowplayed his aces here? It’s quite likely that this was the correct play given how the action went. If he had only called Tilly’s reraise he would likely have won a much bigger pot given the likelihood that she would have bluffed with a high frequency.
As it was, Tilly folded her hand, and JRB only won the $57,000 that was already in the pot, missing out on a potentially massive payout.
Hand 2: JRB Plays His Aces Correctly
In the second hand, JRB was in early position with pocket aces (AsAc). Stanley Choi opened the betting with KcQd, and JRB raised to $27,000. Stanley Tang, who was sitting next to Choi, then re-raised all-in for $85,000 with JcJh. Choi folded, and JRB quickly called.
The two players decided to run the hand twice. On the first run, the board came 9h Ad Jh 6d 5h, which was a dream flop for JRB, as he had a set of aces and Tang had only one out, the remaining jack.
On the second run, the board came 2d 4s 5c 8c 5s, which didn't improve either player's hand. JRB's set of aces held up, and he won the pot worth $185,000, the largest of the show.
